


Just A Little Bit Complicated

by MikeWritesThings (orphan_account)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Bullying, Drugs, F/F, F/M, Hetero, High School, High School AU, HumanAU, Humanstuck, M/M, Strong Language, Underage Drinking, Yaoi, Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-06-24
Packaged: 2018-04-05 03:30:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4164039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/MikeWritesThings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Human AU)</p><p>Tavros Nitram is a kid in a wheelchair, Gamzee Makara is a junkie, Karkat Vantas has anger issues, Terezi Pyrope is blind, Sollux Captor's got something freaky going with his eyes, Eridan Ampora is a twat, Feferi Peixes is way too bubbly, Aradia Megido is creepy, Equius Zahhak is too strong, Vriska Sekret is kind of a backstabbing bitch, Kanaya Maryam owns a chainsaw, and Nepeta Leijon is obsessed with anime and shipping male students. A very normal high school, you could say. Notice the dripping imaginary Internet sarcasm.</p><p>And, of course, despite everything freaky, Tavros is still wondering how to fit in at his new school. Certainly he can fit in SOMEWHERE....Right? Or...No?</p><p>Despite his weird obsession with fairies and such, Tavros is a very normal kid. So he hopes so. And he finds himself making friends with Gamzee Makara and Karkat Vantas, two kids who are probably at the bottom of the social ladder.</p><p>Scratch that, Gamzee's fairly popular. But Tavros isn't really sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...</p><p>(Main Pairings: GamTav, DaveKat)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Tavros Nitram is sure he's going to die.

Well, not actually, but he might as well die, because standing-er, sitting-here in the middle of a busy hallway is going to be the death of him. All the highschool kids have blank faces and are shouting words he can't comprehend or understand, the teachers have awful, twisted devil faces and the mascot is a creepy blob of green. A paper airplane sails tremendously through the air and pokes him in the head, and spitballs are shot at a kid with a black sweater. A girl slips in the hallway and is sent tumbling down, causing a few others to shout angrily or make fun of her. He can smell the rotting food of the cafeteria from here, and, judging by the papers and textbooks in students hands, the homework was hell.

Then the bell rang, cutting through the air with shrill tunes, and everyone began walking even faster, slamming locker doors in a chorus of loud metal and they bustle past him, shouting in one another's ear and students checking their phones at the last minute before they enter the classroom. Some tossed things onto the floor while others were courteous enough to actually throw them in the trash. And yet, despite the moving throng of kids between the ages of fourteen and nineteen, Tavros remained frozen, his arms just as useless as his legs at the moment.

He found himself unable to wheel himself to his first period, unable to think, unable to freaking  _breathe._ And one of these kids were probably going to push him away and watch him roll down the hallway helplessly as gravity took it's toll, and he was so frozen he couldn't even find the strength to stop it, because it was  _that easy._

Sweat broke out on his forehead as the last of the students cleared up and the hallways were suddenly empty. And yes, he was grateful all the students were gone, but suddenly, the empty hallway seemed much more threatening than a full one. Just what waited around the corner? A crabby teacher? A pedophilic janitor? A creepy headmaster? The shadows in the hallway seemed to stretch as Tavros's imagination went into full range and imagined every awful thing that could happen on the way to his first perdiod.

And then-

And then his alarm went off.

And thank god it did, because Tavros did not want to be haunted on a Monday by a hellish nightmare of being swallowed by a grizzly bear on his way to English.

Tavros gave a groan as the music slowly turned louder with each second passing by and each moment he felt more awake. He raised one hand to rub away the sleep in his eyes while the other groped around on his nightstand to shut off his alarm. Stretching his arm out a bit to reach the button, Tavros gave a yawn and blinked through blurry vision at the ceiling.

After a brief moment of waking up, and glancing at the clock, which read six A.M., Monday, September first, Tavros realized that today, the day of all days, was the first day of school.

_Oh shit._

After the task of managing to sit up without the use of his legs (score one) and looking at his wheelchair, seated closely to his bed, which was level almost exactly with his bed, Tavros tried not to think of all the shit awaiting for him in his sophomore year. Freshman year was a hellish experience that should not be spoken of, and Tavros sure hoped that moving at least three hundred miles away from his old school would be an improvement. It would also be really great if he wasn't picked on because of his name, and, as the kids at his old school liked to point out,  _What the hell kind of a name is Tavros?_

Tavros eyed his wheelchair suspiciously. He would reach over, grip the arms of it firmly, and pull himself back until he was lowering himself into it. With luck, it wouldn't slide backwards, as chairs with wheels tend to do, because the last time that happened, his father, Rufioh, had to pick him up from the ground. As if it wasn't embarassing enough that the man had to help him get dressed already.

Managing to secure himself in his wheelchair with success (he's been practicing for eight years, give him some credit) Tavros wheeled himself to his door and opened it. It was a special door that could open either ways, coming in or coming out, so it would be easier for him to enter the room because of his wheelchair. Of course, the door never stayed open 100%, so when Tavros let it close behind him it hit the back of his wheelchair and spurted him forward a few feet.

Rolling into his bathroom and brushing his teeth (his canines were just a tiny bit longer than average. Just a tiny bit) at the special sink that was just his height. Okay, maybe it could lose a few inches, and he wouldn't have to crane his neck just to see his face, but still, it was better than the freakishly tall one next to him. Then, brushing his hair back so it wasn't sticking up like he just stuck his fingers in an electric socket. His hair was maybe the only thing Tavros liked about himself. He didn't know why, but the mohawk just made him feel the _tiniest_ bit more confident. Of course, this was the kid who named his own self-esteem _Rufio._ And, at that thought, his confidence just went spiralling down.

Tavros decided that this morning, he should try dressing himself. Getting his shirt off and on was exceptionally easy, but his pants were a different matter. It took him five whole minutes to get them off by sticking his thumbs into his waistband and trying to tug them down without pulling his underwear down as well. Once they were off his hips and waist, all he had to do was lean over and pulled them off his legs.

Putting them on was a differrent story.

After a minute of leaning over and putting each foot into each pant leg, there came the task of pulling them up, which was seriously hurting his back. Next, was putting them on over his thighs and up to his hips. Several times Tavros was almost sure he ripped his pants, but thankfully, he didn't. 

Tavros put on his jacket as well, seeming as the weather over the past few days had been cold for some odd reason, plus it might rain, and was just about to leave his room when his father knocked at the door. Tavros looked up to see Rufioh smiling at him.

"Oh, you're dressed already?"

Tavros nodded and smiled as well, and Rufioh ruffled his hair, which made it stick up a bit, but certainly not as bad as it was earlier. Most people would find it odd that Tavros was on first-name terms with his father, but between the two of them, it was sort of a...Respect thing, you could say. Rufioh was very easygoing and tried to keep his son encouraged, even moving out of their nice two-story home to a one story house after Tavros's incident and getting him special stuff. As a result, Tavros admired his father greatly, and even cut his hair similarly to his.

After a breakfast of pancakes (with lots and lots of sugar and syrup) the two of them watched the beginning of  _Aladdin,_ one of their favorite movies, before the clock struck seven and Rufioh stood up so he could drive his son to school. They had this cool car with a lot of room up front and a ramp on the passenger seat for people like Tavros to get into the car easier, and instead of a regular car seat on the passenger's side, it was just a big space, enough room for Tavros's wheelchair. His binder was nestled comfortably in his lap and Rufioh promised Tavros ice cream after his first day.

Has Tavros mentioned he has the best dad ever?

The drive to school was silent, but it wasn't in discomfort. Tavros was content with watching the trees and houses pass by on the way to the high school, which was maybe an eight or nine minute drive. Tavros used to time drives to places with a timer for fun, but had lost the timer last year. Well, it actually got smashed underneath someone's foot, but that's a story for a different time.

When they pulled into the parking lot, Rufioh bade his son goodbye and wished him a happy first day of school. The content Tavros felt before disappitated at once and he stared with dread at the three story red brick building. Oh god. This was going to be awful. He was hesitant as he opened the car door and the ramp slid out at once (It wasn't the most convienent thing ever, but it sure saved a lot of time) and turned his wheelchair a 180, careful not to scrape the door and allowed himself down the ramp, which was frictioned enough so he wouldn't go flying down.

"Have a good day at school!" Rufioh said from behind, and Tavros smiled back at his father before gripping his binder again tightly. It sat in his lap and Tavros just now noticed that the Peter Pan sticker in the corner might be a source of bullying. But no way he was taking that off, it was his lucky sticker.

And as his father drove away behind him, and Tavros looked up at the building in front of him, where students were already gathering at the entrance, he felt the same thought he had earlier race through his mind.

_Oh shit._


	2. Chapter Two

Just like in his dream-well, more of a nightmare, really-Tavros was frozen. Completely. He couldn't find the courage to enter that school and face all the strangers that would be milling about. At least he had been able to do it last year because he'd known those kids for five years, but this? He knew nobody. And nobody knew him, but Tavros could tell they were already making assumptions.

He could tell everyone was watching him, examining, waiting for the perfect time to strike and push his wheelchair away and watch him spiral out of control as he went with unnecessary speed on the rough ground, until, like last year, someone would tip him out of his wheelchair completely and watch him lie helpless on the ground.

Okay, maybe the whole  _everybody is watching me_ was just a part of his vivid imagination, but his fear was not. Tavros swallowed immensely and placed a hand on the larger wheel on the right side, rolling himself forward a few feet and trying not to wet himself. The last time that happened...It was excruciatingly embarassing.

"You stuck?"

Tavros turned his head around so fast he was pretty sure he got whiplash. Standing there, was a way-out-of-his-league girl with long black hair and glasses. She one of the frames of the glasses was completely black and she had a.....Robot arm? On closer inspection, it was a really cool-looking prosthetic arm, but still. He could pretend it was a robo arm.

"Uhhh," Tavros said, gripping his binder uneasily. She was pretty, but looked like a popular snob. His mouth couldn't form the right words and his brain wasn't functioning properly.

"Need some help?"

Tavros hoped it was a genuine offer. And yet, he didn't trust that grin on her face. Seriously, it just kind of looked evil, though the blue lipstick was cool. Like really cool. And so were her glasses. In fact, a lot of things about this girl was cool. And that was exactly what made Tavros have the feeling that he should absolutely, positively, NOT trust her.

"Hey, I'm talking to you." She was now right next to him and poking his head repeatedly. Tavros just watched her as he tried to say something that wouldn't sound liked "hurrrblehbluasdfg". She was gripping the back of his wheelchair before he could even say anything and pushed him forward unnecessarily fast. Tavros gave a surprised yelp that actually sounded more like a squeak and his knuckles turned white from gripping his binder so hard. The girl was practically running, and a split second later she placed her feet on the back wrung of his chair and stood on it, and together they zipped towards the entrance. It was then that Tavros let out a scream.

It wasn't super loud, but it was indeed a scream. One, of panic, because they were going so fast that a.) he would crash into that brick wall or b.) if he stopped he would be unseated from his wheelchair. Either option sounded very painful. And  _embarassing._

The girl was laughing hysterically and Tavros covered his eyes with his hands, preparing for the oncoming crash and feeling his heart beat faster. Not even five minutes at school and he was going to die. Or be seriously injured.

Then his wheelchair came to a sudden stop and the force rocketed his body forward and nearly unseated him, had it not been for the hand that gripped the back of his outer shirt and tugged him back with strength like a bull. Oh crap, this girl's got muscle.

"Well, boy, your wheelchair is pretty cool," The girl said, and released her hold on his shirt. Tavros was too busy internally screaming. But now that they were immobile, he had calmed down considerably. A few were staring at the two, and sweat broke out on the back of Tavros's neck. Don't give him a hard time, he's really nervous, okay? You don't have scary (but very pretty) girls who look rich pushing you around at breakneck speed happening every day.

"i--Uh, I--I just--"

_I think I just peed my pants._

"Do you speak English?" The girl asked unconcernedly, one foot still on the rung of his wheelchair and pushing him back and forth with it. Tavros said the smartest thing ever.

"It's, uh, one of my languages."

Aaaaaaand he probably looks like the biggest nerd and dork in the universe right now. What made it worse was that Tavros could feel the heat rising to his cheeks in a blush. In truth, he could speak English, French, and Spanish, as when he was in the hospital after the accident he had plenty of time on his hands during his stay and after. He was currently learning Latin from his father, and this year planned to take German, but he looked up a few videos yesterday and kind of regretted it. German looked and sounded difficult.

"Are you picking on crippled kids now, Vriska?"

Vriska.

Why did that name give him a jabbing feeling in his gut?

"Oh wait, you already do."

Tavros and the girl addressed as Vriska craned their necks around to see another girl standing behind her. She was a few inches shorter than Vriska, with a pair of red shades and short black hair, and a really cool-looking red walking cane, and the handle was in the shape of a dragon's head. Judging by her shades and the walking cane, Tavros made the assumption that she was blind. It also kind of helped when her head was facing in their general direction, yet she was looking at the brick wall behind the two of them. As if to further prove his assumption, Vriska said,

"Nice to  _see_ you, Terezi-Oh wait."

"You crack me up," Terezi said, and looked like she genuinely meant it, but there was still a lace of sarcasm in her voice. Tavros felt like the girls were mortal enemies. It was just a gut feeling he had. And, believe it or not, if Tavros's gut feeling was telling him something, his gut feeling was usually correct. The girl-Terezi- smiled and took a few steps forward.

"Leave him alone."

"How can you tell he's crippled?" Vriska asked skeptically, "It's just a normal kid."

"I heard you mention a wheelchair. My sight might be gone, Vriska, but my hearing has gotten better by tenfold," Terezi said, and Tavros couldn't believed, that if they were enemies like he was guessing, that her voice was so light and casual, as if she was chatting to her friends over a few drinks at Starbucks. Not that Tavros would go to a white girl's hang-out. Pssh, no.....Okay maybe sometimes when he really, really wanted a latte.

Tavros felt his arms moving on their own to steadily wheel him away from the girls. Vriska was glaring the blind one down, and the blind one-It  _was_ Terezi, right? Tavros had a rather hard time remembering names, even if he heard them literally two seconds ago. Yet Vriska was different. For some reason, when her name was mentioned, Tavros could almost imagine he could feel something in his legs again. Almost. But almost is not quite, and his legs, as they had been for eight years, remained still. And it felt like he didn't even have legs. Tavros felt nothing.

Tavros felt that getting away from the fighting girls would be a lot safer than sticking around, and so, with a deep breath, he entered the high school.

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few side notes, so I a.) don't get confusion and b.) don't get hated on.
> 
> I have headcanons for the races and such of all the characters, and here they are:
> 
> Aradia-Asian. Chinese, specifically. (don't ask. I have reasons ._.)
> 
> Tavros: Hispanic...Or African American? I haven't really decided. Wait! Why not both? *Mexican music*
> 
> Sollux: White. (Roots: Canadian)
> 
> Karkat: White. (Roots: So mixed up no one even fucking knows. MUTANT BLOOD!) I would really liked it if Karkat was Albino, but meh. In the end I decided his crazy black hair was preferrable to white, and I can still keep his red eyes (pffft no I totally didn't want him to be albino because his red eyes kick ass, nooooo....Maybe) by saying it is a gene mutation or some shit.
> 
> Kanaya: Asian. Japanese, specifically. DON'T QUESTION MY LOGIC. IT MAKES ALL OF THE SENSES TO AUTHOR-SENPAI.
> 
> Nepeta: White as a unicorn. Seriously, she's dead pale. (Roots: American. ALL AMERICAN)
> 
> Feferi: I'm not exactly sure what the race would be. I want her to have a darker, bronze skin, so I guess like Arabian? No, Egyptian? Or just plain out African American? O.O
> 
> Vriska: White. (Roots: Russian. Don't ask.)
> 
> Equius: A white Brit for ya mates.
> 
> Eridan: White British hipster.  
> Serious consideration for having him black (he just...Has that feel, okay?) but in the end, he turned out white.
> 
> Gamzee: Also serious consideration for African American, but in the end I decided white, because I guess that would....Something about clown make up. I forgot.
> 
> Terezi: Asian. To me it's logic. I will hear no complaining. Nein. Nada. None of it.
> 
> John, Rose, Dirk, Roxy: White.
> 
> Dave: Albino.
> 
> Jane: Australian. (I swear if you question my way of thinking I will spear you)
> 
> Jade: Asian, though I don't have specifics.
> 
> Jake: He's white, but has a very nice tan because...Islandsy stuff I guess.
> 
> So yes, that is just to clear up any confusion, and if you don't like my headcanons you can just imagine them as a different race. :) Okay? Okay.

His Science class was relatively small. By his usual standards, anyways. Tavros was used to big rooms full of bustling kids running around and doing weird nonsense with paper, flinging it around and laughing and extra bonus points if the paper hit someone. People would try bouncing their pencils on their desks, checking their phones under tables, sneakily eating food from out of their pockets, or being loud and disruptive. Of course, there was plenty of that, but it was dimmed down to sixteen kids rather than thirty four. Despite the school's large size, the actual number of kids seemed very...Small.

The first thing Tavros noticed when he entered the Science classroom was that the teacher was sitting on a beanbag chair and glaring at all the students. The second thing Tavros noticed was that the desks were placed in a U formation, and each already had placecards with student's names on them. Tavros was grateful to find that his desk was closest to the door and had no chair in place for him, making it easier to slide easily into the avaliable space.

The person's placecard next to him read Kanaya Maryam, and the one next to hers, Marco Russel. But Kanaya. That was a rather strange name, wasn't it? Of course, Tavros wasn't really one to talk, but still.

There were only a few spots missing, but they slowly began to fill up, and just as the bell rang the last two students rushed into the room. Both girls nodded to each other and took their respective seats, and the taller Asian in the red skirt took her spot next to Tavros. Tavros couldn't help but notice she was very pretty and smelled like perfume. Her lipstick was a rather peculiar shade of green and her hair was spiky black and short.

"Hello. My name is Kanaya." The girl said, but Tavros had already come to the assumption that was her name. Tavros stuck a hand out, hoping he wasn't being foolish, and said,

"Er, hi. I'm Tavros Nitram."

_Was saying my last name really necessary?_

But to his great relief Kanaya smiled and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Tavros Nitram."

"Settle down," The teacher said loudly, and after the principle gave the routine 'welcome to your first day of high school' speech over the intercom, the teacher began his droning start of the year speech on expectations of his classroom and the rules of sophomore (and for some of the students in the class, junior) year. After the speech (which Tavros timed in his mind out of boredom to be exactly eleven minutes and twenty-eight seconds) the teacher called role, by starting off with alphabetical order Z-A.

"Zahhak, Equius."

"Here," Piped up a British-accented voice in the curve of the U.

"Yondes, Jenna."

"Present."

The roll continued with nothing especially significant happening, Tavros noted most of the kids had regular, normal names except "Equius", "Feferi", "Kanaya", and of course, "Tavros."

As soon as the roll was finished and the kids were glancing at each other and deciding who was going to be who's friend and who was most likely to be an enemy, the teacher handed out textbooks and commanded they open to page A38. Tavros was pretty sure that the teacher had told them his name already and yet for the life of him coudn't really be bothered to remember what it was. Something to do like Mr. somethingorotherberg. Mr. Jenninberg? Mr. Jensenberg? Mr. Jumpburgerstein? Whatever. He'd eventually remember it throughout the year.

After the teacher made them read the safety rules of science thuroughly, he then said,

"I am going to call a name randomly and I want you to say one thing interesting about yourself. Miko."

"I want to be a race car driver, and my dad's already bought me a Ferrari for my sixteenth birthday in two weeks," The boy said. He was shorter, but not very, and had a rich-kid air to him, though seemed indifferent to everyone and not flaunting it around in their faces, "And everyone's invited to the party, if they want to come."

"Very interesting," The teacher said, uninterested, "Dave."

"Which Dave?" Two voice came.

"Milligan."

"I once got my stomach pumped from eating vitamins," The red-haired Dave said. The Dave on the opposite end of the room pushed his shades further up his nose.

"Good. Now Strider."

"I own two swords and can accurately use them. Also I have some sick turntables." Dave said, and had absolutely no reaction at all to impressed whistles from the girls on either side of him and the sour look a few guys gave him. Tavros himself felt impressed by this, but then wondered if this was a bluff the kid had said to make himself seem cooler.

"That's fascinating," The teacher really seemed like he didn't give a shit as he picked out another random name, "Lenny."

Lenny just waved silently, motioning for the teacher to pick somebody else.

"Alright. Kanaya."

Kanaya stood up and glanced around, hands behind her back, as she said,

"My name is Kanaya and I am very interested in fashion. I also own a chainsaw and cut down trees. If needed, of course. I don't cut down trees unless necessary, because only assholes do that." 

"Interesting," The teacher nodded, too bored to even correct her from using bad language. Tavros began wondering if anybody could say anything in this class. He decided not to test that theory though. Who knew how much trouble he could get in?

"Feferi."

"I want to become an Olympic swimmer!" Feferi bubbled brightly, and there was a distinct Australian accent to her tone, "Also I own three puppies. And cats. And fish. And-"

"Tavros," THe teacher read, glancing at the seating chart before looking towards Tavros. Tavros felt his stomach drop and he butterflies replace his intestines.

"U-uh-...." He glanced around, not wanting to say anything, but every eye was trained intently upon him, and if Tavros could, he would sink even lower into his wheelchair and vanish. Or suddenly produce magical flying abilities like Peter Pan or something and escape through the window. That sounded awesome. Maybe he could even-

" _Tavros. Nitram._ " The teacher repeated in a booming voice, and if Tavros's face hadn't been red before from all the attention, it was definitely a tomato by now. Tavros fiddled with his thumbs for a few seconds, putting off being put on the spot for a moment before looking up and saying quietly,

"M-my name is, uh, Tavros Ni-"

"Speak louder," Kanaya whispered, nudging him lightly in the ribs with her elbow. Tavros felt his face continue to heat up as every eye was on him. Even Dave (Strider) had turned his head in the general direction of him. 

"My name is Tavros Nitram," Tavros said in a louder, clearer voice, and at once, searched for something interesting to say. What was there to say about him? He really didn't have anything special or interesting about him. He could always say he liked fairies and once had an imaginary pet he had been obsessed with called Tinkerbull, but for some reason, Tavros had the feeling that wouldn't give them the right first impression. He could always say he was an excellent anime and manga drawer (which, he was) but that would probably seem like he was showing off, and Tavros didn't need any enemies. He could always say he came from a totally different city miles and miles away but then would kids treat him like an outsider? Or-

"Sometime today, son," The teacher peered at him through spectacles, and Tavros felt like he was being strapped to a tree while guns were pointing at him, and the teacher just called out, "Ready! Aim! Fire!"

"And, I uh, have been paralyzed for eight years, b-but before I was paralyzed, I used to-"

The bell rang.

Tavros practically deflated with relief as everyone gathered their stuff at once and crammed themselves through the door, fighting over who would get into the hall first. Kanaya gave him a sideways look before neatly gathering her notebook, textbook, and messenger bag, before smiling at Tavros, who already had everything in his lap and was waiting for everyone to exit before going through himself.

"What did you used to do before you were paralyzed?"

Tavros looked up, trying to figure out if she was legitamtely interested. She seemed nice enough, so Tavros said,

"Hockey. My dad loved hockey, and my mom used to, so when I was a kid, I used to play hockey."

Tavros congratulated himself for not stuttering.

"What's your next period?" Kanaya asked curiously as she stepped through the doorway, and Tavros followed.

"Math," Tavros said, and Kanaya frowned.

"With who?"

"Sanders."

"Oh. I have English in that same hallway, with Hussie. What's your period after that?"

"History. With Jerkins."

"Me too!" Kanaya grinned, then began walking backwards, still facing Tavros, "Why don't we walk to History together? I'll meet you at your classroom. You're a nice kid, Tavros! See ya."

Forget being put on the spot, Tavros was sure his face was positively a bright red limelight glowing for anyone in a fifty mile radius to see. But, as he wheeled himself to Math, Tavros felt accomplished at actually making a friend.

Maybe...Just maybe, this school year would not suck.


	4. Chapter Four

Math was a different story.

The desks were lined in typical rows, and in pairs, and Tavros wondered if there was a specific place he should sit or if they could sit wherever. The teacher barely glanced at him as he walked through the door, more intent on scrawling things on the whiteboard with a green marker. So, Tavros did the only thing he could think to do and wheeled himself to the back of the classroom. It was a lot easier than he anticipated, seeing as nobody was blocking him in the middle of the aisle, so he was able to find a desk without trouble.

After reaching over and dragging a chair out of the way to make sliding his wheelchair under a much easier task, Tavros placed all his stuff in his lap again and leaned forward on his elbows. For a few seconds he watched the students streaming in, before he felt himself wandering. His imagination took him to a different realm entirely, one where he could fly. If he coudn't walk, then why not fly? Why not be free and soar through the skies with no heavy weights to bring him down, to just do as he see fit and have nobody hold him back because he was handicapped?

But a harsh reality began to settle into his dream world the farther he drifted off into space. The closest Tavros would ever come to flying would be on an airplane, and he was certainly never getting out of this wheelchair. But Tavros had never even  _been_ on an airplane. How awesome would it be to be looking over the heads of everyone when normally you were forced to stare at their backs? To feel like he could almost touch the sky and escape the worries of earth?

It was often his daydreaming that was the source of bullying these past few years. As the months wore on in hospital and the severe pain was slowly numbing away (though that was not a good thing, in his case) Tavros had been bored out of his mind. He was a fast reader and the two books Rufioh had brought him were gone in just under two days, so his only resort was to slip away into a fantasy that would never exist.

At first it was simple things like doing better in hockey and passing the third grade with good grades, at least all A's and B's. Then it was his father winning the lottery and being able to afford some awesome brand new robot technology and buying Tavros a new pair of legs. And then, as fourth grade loomed closer and closer over the summer and the chances of him ever walking again slimmed, Tavros began to daydream of flying.

The daydreams never really stopped, and Tavros kept finding himself slipping away at crucial moments. But, for the sake of his father, he tried to stay focused even more so he could do well in school. However, this did not prevent Tavros from daydreaming until he heard a voice say,

" _Tavros Nitram!_ " Tavros glanced up to see the teacher's eyes scanning the room, obviously calling role. Tavros raised his hand shakily and the teacher nodded stiffly, checking his name off on her clipboard.

"Terezi Pyrope!"

Terezi. Now why did that name sound very familiar? But the instant Tavros saw a girl up front raise her hand and shout "HERE!!!!" Tavros remembered. It had been the blind girl with the wicked red shades and cool walking stick, the one that had stood up to that Vriska girl. Tavros felt a sort of inclination to thank her but he held it off for now, at least until class was over.

"Dave Strider!"

Tavros drifted off again before being brought back seconds later with the teacher accidentally dropping a textbook on the ground. She cursed quietly yet her voice carried out across the classroom and a few kids snickered. The teacher gave a scowl (Sanderson? Sandler? Then Tavros remembered faintly  _Sanders_ ). She began to read out the last few names before the door opened and a kid walked in.

He was short, a few inches shorter than what Tavros would be if he was standing up, he guessed. He had a mess of black hair and dark circles under his eyes, a black sweater with a gray Cancer symol on it, black pants and sneakers. And, interestingly enough about him (despite the hall pass in his hand. You had to  _kill_ to get one of those) were his red eyes, which seemed unnaturually bright in the lights of the school. A few kids whispered quietly, and because it was a small class (containing perhaps sixteen people) the teacher heard them and told them off. The kid said something in a low voice none of them heard before walking off to the back of the room, where everybody's eyes followed.

The only avaliable seat in the back was next to Tavros, which the kid plopped down ungracefully in and flipped off the kids who were still staring. The teacher, not having caught this rude gesture, continued to call role. She finally called out the last name.

"Karkat Vantas!"

Kids all around the room giggled and Tavros had to prevent himself from doing so as well. That would not sit well with the Karkat person, and Tavros was trying to make friends today. At least, he was trying not to make enemies today.  He glanced around, searching for the unfortunate soul who was named 'Karkat', and looked to his left where he saw the newcomer slowly raising his hand.

Tavros felt good about not giggling.

After the class settled, the teacher began laying out the guidelines for their class. It was more or less the same shit from last period, but the teacher didn't ask them to introduce themselves. Karkat kept giving the kids around him a dirty glare and Tavros started wondering if making friends with his neighbor was even possible.

Soon the period was over, and Tavros was going to History with Kanaya.

Kanaya was really nice to him and even seemed to know Karkat, saying "Hey Karkles" (in which he glared at her and opened his mouth to say something when Terezi wrapped an arm around his shoulder and began teasing him about something). 

History class was uneventful, but it had Equius from first period, as well as Jenna (though her name soon slipped out of Tavros's mind, as it was a pretty common name) and a kid named John Egbert with his friend Jade Harley, was asleep in the back of the class. But the most interesting person was the girl that sat in front of Tavros. Her name was Nepeta and she wore a blue kitty cat hat and had several drawings of anime characters on her binder and what looked like a chart, but what it was for Tavros couldn't tell.

History passed the same as Math, and Tavros was ready to blow his brains out if he had to listen to another lesson like this. In fact, it wasn't even a lesson. It was more like a relay of guidelines over and and over again for several hours. Oh joy.

Nothing exciting happened at all until Tavros was out of the classroom and on his way to lunch while Kanaya drifted off to search for her friend Rose. Tavros was rolling down the hallway and desparately trying not to bump into anybody. He had a type grip on his binder and textbooks and was trying to remember the way to the lunchroom when-

_CRASH._

"Ah, fuck," A voice said, and Tavros opened his previously squeezed-shut eyes to look at who his victim had been. He had unknowingly toppled another student to the ground and sent his binder and textbooks scattering around on the floor. The guy he had bumped into had crazier black hair than Karkat from earlier, and his back was turned as he was picking off all the books from the ground. And speaking of Karkat, there he was, standing next to guy on the ground with an annoyed look on his face. Tavros opened his mouth to apologize but choked on his own words from embarassment. Any more embarassment in the next hour, and Tavros swore he would lock himself in a bathroom stall all day. The last time he did that, the school had to call his dad to drag him out though, so that might not be a good idea...Ugh.

"Sorry man," A voice said, offering Tavros's stacked binder and textbooks towards him, "Was all up in my motherfuckin daydream, didn't even look where I was going."

"It's a-alright," Tavros said, accepting the items with a slightly shaky hand before glancing up at whoever he had hit. And when I mean up, I mean _up._ He practically had to crane his neck all the way, the guy was so tall, and that mass of unruly crazy black hair didn't seem to be helping at all. He had a black shirt with a black jacket over it with purple lining, jeans, and on the shirt in purple letters, read "HoNk :o)". It was a rather interesting shirt and Tavros wondered if it was a customized one, but right now he had something else to do.

"I'm s-sorry for bumping into y-you like that," Tavros apologized, and the tall guy gave a grin. That was when Tavros noticed that he was wearing  _clown make up,_ as wellas a lip ring and a few piercings in his ear. He looked like one of the kids from his old school. One of the bullies who used to knock him out of his wheelchair and watch him squirm on the ground helplessly. Karkat gave a cough from the side that sounded suspicious, but if there was a message in it Tavros couldn't decipher it.

"My name is Gamzee, bro," The guy said with a grin, and extended his hand, though instead of offering a handshake, he was offering a fist bump. Tavros hesitantly fist-bumped him and Gamzee nodded. "Wicked, brother. Nice meetin' ya. Let's go Karbro!"

"Don't call me that," Karkat said in a pissy voice, following after the much taller form of Gamzee. Tavros stared after him (kind of wondering how the poor guy got stuck with Karbro right after Karkat. Seriously.) before he was once again reminded he should be making his way to lunch.

Lunch was a quiet affair, in which Tavros ate sitting next to Kanaya, Dave, Jade, Kanaya's friend Rose, and a few older kids by the name of Jane, Roxy, Dirk, and Jake. Tavros didn't really make much talk with them but by the way he watched them communicate with each other he could assume they were a fairly nice group of people. Kanaya kept saying she wished Terezi and John had the same lunch period, and Tavros was wondering if Terezi and Kanaya knew each other very well. If Kanaya knew Terezi, then did Kanaya know Vriska? Tavros just couldn't shake off that awful feeling about that girl.

The school lunches didn't look cliched and awful, but they weren't five-star gourmet meals. There was grilled cheese, burgers, and pizza. Jade had been nice enough to offer to get in line for him but Tavros had politely declined and instead waited in line like the other kids. The lunch room was much smaller than the one he was used to and served McDonald's on Fridays and Wednesdays.

Tavros picked all the pepperoni off the pizza (a habit he had gotten into as a kid) and ate the pizza before beginning on the pepperoni slices. Kanaya and Rose were talking about something while the others watched Dirk blow bubbles out of his strawberry milk carton. Tavros watched for a bit too until glancing at the time. Nobody else but Rose had next period with him yet she wasn't done with her food yet, and Tavros didn't even know where the English classroom was located, so he might as well get a head start now.

Tavros went around the school looking for room 420 with Mr.Hussie. English had always been his favorite subject and he was actually anticipating it. But first, he had to find the damn classroom...

The bell rang and a few seconds later kids filled into the hallways and Tavros began to roll himself around faster, and he nearly crashed into someone again if he hadn't swerved out of the way just in time. On closer inspection it turned out to be the same guy Tavros had nearly murdered earlier, Gamzee, still with Karkat and now Terezi and Nepeta, the weird girl who had sat in front of him in History.

"S-sorry! I d-didn't mean to..." But to his surprise, Tavros was laughing. Nepeta and Terezi were giggling as well, and Karkat looked like he was trying to keep a straight face. He was actually doing a good job of it, but there were hints of a smirk.

"Where ya goin' in such a hurry?" Gamzee asked once his breath had cleared. Tavros stared down at his sneakers, suddenly finding the pattern very fascinating as he answered,

"English with Hussie."

"Really? Us too," Terezi said, stepping forward and twirling her cane around in her hand like it was a baton, "We know where it is already if that helps."

"R-really? But...Don't you guys have lunch?" Tavros asked, doing a quick check mentally of the lunch schedule.

"Not till next period," Nepeta answered for the others, skipping down the hallway, and Tavros followed as well as the others, "But today is going to be purrfect, I just know! I have all the good teachers this year!"

Deciding not to comment on the use of a cat pun, Tavros followed Nepeta silently while the other three talked behind him. He guessed Terezi was sort of his friend, and Nepeta was nice enough, but what about the other two? He didn't know much about that, but he gathered that Karkat was a pretty tempermental dude. Soon they arrived outside room 420 and entered.

The first thing Tavros noticed was that his teacher was sitting on his desk, Indian style, in jeans and a T-shirt, playing what suspiciously looked like Angry Birds on a tablet. Next, he noticed that many of the posters and pictures on the walls seemed to be drawings of his own. Whistling as he was impressed, Tavros examined the room and the ways the desks were set up, in groups of six like back in elementary school. He watched the others seat themselves all at one table and wondered where he should sit, but to his utter surprise Nepeta pulled the chair out of the spot next to her and beckoned him over. Tavros hesitantly crossed over to them and seated himself at the desk, and Terezi beamed in his general direction.

"I don't think we properly met earlier. I'm Terezi," She stuck her hand out in his general direction, though her aim was a little more towards Nepeta, but Tavros didn't bother correcting her as he reached out to shake it.

"I'm Tavros Nitram," Tavros said, and more students began streaming in. Rose came and sat in the last avaliable spot at their table next to Terezi, and Tavros, who had a good view of the doorway, watched each kid stream in. Most of them he knew. There was Feferi from first period as well as Lenny. Three kids who's names he didn't remember from second and John from third. John waved to Rose and sat down at the seat at the next table closest to her. A boy with blond hair, big hipster glasses and a purple dyed streak entered with Vriska following. Tavros felt his heart sink at the sight of her. This girl just didn't give him a good feeling...

"And now!" The teacher said loudly as soon as the bell rang, getting to his feet and shutting the door. He dramatically grabbed a marker and began drawing a picture with remarkable speed on the whiteboard, humming what sounded suspiciously like "Rap God" by Eminem. His drawing was done in thirty seconds, which was a bunch of rainbows and clouds and stars and sparkles all bunched together with a few kids riding unicorns while WELCOME was written in the middle, and  _To Mr. Hussie's English Class_ was written in neat cursive at the bottom.

Two minutes and Tavros was already impressed.

As soon as he finished, Mr. Hussie began calling out the classmate's names. Vriska shot Terezi a look and gave a sneer, and Terezi, whom Tavros suddenly had a feeling she could see more than she let on, stuck her middle finger in Vriska's exact direction.

"Gamzee Makara."

"Here, bro,"

"Wassap, dude. Tavros Nitram."

Tavros raised his hand. Mr. Hussie nodded and bowed in return dramatically.

Soon role call was over and Mr. Hussie seated himself back on his desk, staring off into space with a look of content on his face. The class watched him for a few moments silently before he stood up on his desk, puffing his chest out and saying,

"WELCOME TO ENGLISH CLASS! Please remain seated."


	5. Chapter Five

"So I'm pretty sure all of you will want to murder me then commit suicide yourselves if I were to give you the same boring speech every other teacher has given you, which is all on this paper," Mr. Hussie said, and held up a whole packet of at last ten pages of printed writing explaining rules, dress codes, and safety guidelines. Everybody groaned.

"But there ain't gonna be none of that," Mr. Hussie tossed the stack of papers behind him carelessly and they hit the trashcan with a thud, not making it inside but it was close enough, "Because I'm pretty sure I would kill myself too if I had to go through all that. What a bore! Snooze! But if I don't want to be fired, I have to give you a simple reading of the rules. Rules you have already heard. So I give you this time to either sleep, chat quietly, play on your phones. In other words, I will talk loudly and you can ignore me. Your ignoring begins now."

Mr. Hussie began reading from something on his phone, the same shit they had been hearing all day, and everyone pulled out a cellphone and began to play games and text while others started talking quietly. Karkat, who was sitting across from Tavros with Gamzee to his left, began saying something about "those guys were fucking retards" and Nepeta pulled out her chart and began scribbling names. Terezi peered over curiously as she heard the sound of rustling paper and said,

"Whatcha got there, Nep?"

"My shipping chart," Nepeta said breezily, and Rose face-palmed at the other end of the table, on Gamzee's left. Terezi, who was across from Rose, turned her head in the direction of Tavros who was on the other side of Nepeta.

"Do you know what shipping is?'

"No," Tavros answered honestly, staring at his Peter Pan sticker. It wasn't really bringing him a lot of good luck today, but it was luck enough he had sort of made friends.

"Good," Terezi said, then grimaced, "Then I supposed you'll know soon."

"Shipping is my life!" Nepeta said, turning to face Tavros eagerly, shipping chart in hand, and Tavros suddenly had a very bad feeling as everyone at their table gave a low groan and face-palmed, especially Rose and Karkat, "Shipping is when you want two people to be together."

"I ship Sollux Captor and Aradia Megido," Mr. Hussie said loudly, then continued on as if nothing happened. Nepeta gave a grin before saying, 

"Sadly though, Strawberry Banana is my NOTP. No way. Nerd Fight is adorable though!"

"Umm..." Tavros was actually really speechless. What the hell did all of that mean?!

"She makes ships and names them weird things," Rose explained from the other side of the table, "Strawberry Banana is Sollux Captor and Aradia Megido, and Eridan Ampora and Sollux Captor is Nerd Fight."

The boy with the purple streak turned his head slightly to their table but said nothing.

"Oh my fucking god," Karkat said, burying his face in his arms, which were crossed over the desk, "Here we fucking go away. Fucking great."

"This is motherfuckin wicked shit, bro," Gamzee said with a grin, eyes flickering to Tavros. He noticed Gamzee's pupils were strangely small and his grin was way too relaxed. Tavros cocked his head to the side as Nepeta began listing off her major ships.

"Rosemary, which is Rose and Kanaya Maryam! They would be so adorable.  Dave and Dirk Strider, which is Stridercest (Terezi coughed next to Nepeta, which sounded like a snicker) Bronies with Benefits, which is Dirk Strider and Equius Zahhak, but I also really love Red Knights, which is obviously Karkat and Dave-"

"Wait fucking what?!"

"But also Repop, which is Gamzee and Karkat! Ahh, which do I ship most? Life decisions, this is so hard!" Nepeta whined, pouting at her shipping chart, while Karkat blubbered uselessly in front of her, eyes wide. Gamzee was chuckling and the others looked amused. "But my OTP is Pepsi Cola. John Egbert and Dave Strider for life."

Tavros honestly did not understand anything she said, and the others didn't really seem to understand either. A closer look at her shipping chart included the names of her ships and little drawings of their faces, and it was divided into five sections: OTP (only two ships were in this one-The mentioned Pepsi Cola and another which included boys similar-looking to the ones in Pepsi Cola, but the ship name was DirkJake, which, unlike the others, just seemed to be two names clashed together) Like (several ships dotted the 'like' section) 'Not sure' (only a few were in the not sure section, but what looked like drawings of Terezi and Vriska with the ship name Team Scourge was circled) 'Dislike' (quite a few were in here, but not as many as 'like') and finally NOTP!!!! which consisted of two ships-The mentioned Strawberry Banana and Sparkling Sapphires, which looked like very crude drawings of Kanaya and Vriska.

Tavros was surprised to find he was already on the chart in two ships-Peanut Butter and Grub Sauce (what the hell) which included him and Kanaya, and Chocolate Cherries, which was him and Karkat. Chocolate Cherries was in 'not sure' while PBaGS was in 'Like.' Tavros blushed at the thought of this girl, this strange girl whom he hardly even knew, 'shipping' him with other students which he hardly knew as well.

Nepeta even seemed to include  _herself_ in her shipping chart. Tavros just noticed, very tiny in the corner of OTP, wasn't even a drawing, but just a ship name. Crabcat. And, judging by every other ship name and Karkat's personality, Tavros assumed this was the ship of Karkat and Nepeta. Also very small in the corner of 'like' was Strong Catnip, but before Tavros could investigate further, Nepeta was stuffing her chart away. Tavros glanced at the others, and noticed Karkat was staring at someone with a frown on his face.

He turned his head to see Dave Strider, whom he hadn't noticed before, sitting across the boy with the purple streak in his hair. Dave's expression was as indifferent from the one he wore in first period, and his shades hid his eyes, which made Tavros wonder what color they were. Dave suddenly turned his head to see the two of them staring and stared back with that same indifference on his face. Karkat averted his eyes hastily and Tavros allowed his eyes to wander under the pretense he was glancing around.

"Blah blah blah-And that concludes our reading of the rules," Mr. Hussie stated, pocketing his phone and standing up, stretching, "I'm going to ask you your name, and I want you guys to give me your favorite movie and color, and a fun fact about yourself.  You there!"

He pointed dramatically at Karkat.

"State your name and favorites!"

"Uh," Karkat glanced around, seeing everyone staring at him, and gave a little huff, "Karkat Vantas. Gray...Or red. My favorite movie is 50 First Dates."

"Fun fact, sir, I need a fun fact!" Mr. Hussie had picked up a marker and was drawing on the board rapidly, "Also tell me your Zodiac. It would be nice to know."

"Cancer. Fun fact about myself?.....I like rom-com and romances stuff, and I would say I'm pretty fucking good at relationships," Karkat said proudly, before flinching once he realized he had cussed out loud. Mr. Hussie, however, just nodded and continued drawing. Finally he pulled away and revealed his drawing.

It was of Karkat, but in a sort of...What was the word?  _Sprite version._ He had horns and the Cancer symbol drawn in gray on his shirt. KARKAT VANTAS was scribbled underneath. The class gave a quick round of impressed applause before Mr. Hussie erased it.

"I call them trolls. The kids last year seemed to enjoy it, so I thought you would too. Strider!" He pointed at Dave, "Brother of Dirk Strider, right?"

"Yeah," Dave said, "My favorite color is red. I don't really have a favorite movie. I like to use turntables and ninja swords, and my bro is pretty fucking awesome."

Mr. Hussie was done drawing Dave's sprite so fast it was almost magic. Complete with shades, and with Dave's actual shirt in red. Unlike before, it didn't have horns or his Zodiac. The class gave another round of applause before Mr. Hussie erased it and pointed to a girl. He continued drawing the kids in sprite forms, some with horns and Zodiac symbols and some without, some with wings or some with animal ears. Finally he pointed to Tavros, who stared down at his binder and said,

"Tavros Nitram. I'm a Taurus, and my favorite color is brown. My favorite movie is...." He wondered if he dare say the truth and say 'Peter Pan', but then again there were plenty of other kids with terrible movie choice (i.e. Karkat's  _Fifty First Dates_ ), "Peter Pan. An interesting fact about me is that I like to draw."

Mr. Hussie stepped back and revealed a picture of Tavros in his wheelchair with bull horns and the Taurus symbol in brownn on his shirt. It looked pretty cool, and Mr. Hussie erased it before pointing to Gamzee.

"Gamzee, Capricorn, purple, I like clowns, and uhhhh...My favorite movie would be...Finding Nemo or some shit?" Gamzee said, leaning forward on his elbows. Mr. Hussie's impressive drawing received another round of applause before he gestured to the boy with the purple streak.

"Eridan Ampora, Aqua-" He began, the British accent noticeable in his clear voice, but the bell rang and cut him off abruptly. The class stood up and Mr. Hussie waved goodbye. Tavros smiled at Nepeta, who asked him what his next class was.

"German," He answered, and she deflated.

"I take Spanish, and I suck at it." She gave a small pout. Tavros was about to offer to maybe help her out when Terezi called,

"Come on Nep! Feedin' time!"

"Yay! Got to go. Bye!" Nepeta said, and raced over to the blind girl, her shipping chart in hand. Still not fully understanding the concept of shipping but at the same time not really wanting to know either, Tavros watched everybody stream out of the classroom. Vriska was the last to exit, and she gave him a weird look that could only be described as smug and Tavros once again had that strange feeling in his stomach. It was killing him, not knowing what the feeling was, but it was definitely a negative feeling. As soon as she left, Tavros exited as well.

He found the German classroom easily enough, which Kanaya and a boy with red and blue glasses much like old 3D ones exited, talking about something. Kanaya waved at Tavros and Tavros waved back before entering the classroom himself.

The teacher seemed okay enough, and briefed through the rules quickly, before giving a speech about how German was a difficult language and at times the class could seem frustrating. Tavros (along with ninety percent of his class) tuned out. The kid he was sitting next to (John, he vaguely remembered) was doodling something on his paper and the girl in front of him had long wavy dark brown hair and a shirt with a sheep on it. She was fiddling with something that Tavros couldn't see, and the kid on Tavros's left was making spitballs and aiming them at the back of Jade's head.

He looked to his right and saw John offering him a piece of paper, a smile on his face. Tavros hesitated, then smiled back and accepted the paper, pulling out his own pencil and began to draw. At first, he didn't really know what he was drawing, but as he sketched out the legs he realized he was drawing himself standing up like a normal person. After drawing himself, he wondered who else he could draw, when he thought of Kanaya. It took a few moments, but he finally got her figure right. She was a few inches taller than him and had her arm slung over the shoulder of Rose, who's face proved to be more difficult than he thought it would be. Rose seemed pretty close to Dave Strider and John, so Tavros began to sketch Dave crossing his arms on her left. He stopped halfway at the legs so he could start drawing John sitting Indian Style on the ground. He glanced at John to get a good look at his facial features for reference before returning to his drawing. He had just started on the glasses when the bell rang.

Tavros gathered his paper things together before the teacher released them by row, and he exited with his. His next period was study hall. Normally people would have gym but due to his condition, he had a free period instead. Tavros spent his free period finishing his drawing. He had already drawn John and also got the feeling Jade was pretty close to. He drew her sitting next to John, before Tavros started working on who would be on the other side of him. The first person he drew was Nepeta holding her shipping chart, while Terezi stood beside her leaning on her walking cane in what she would consider a 'cool way.' Karkat, a few inches shoulder, had his arms crossed grumpily and was glancing to the left. Oddly, Tavros had the feeling that his drawing of Karkat was glancing at Dave. He began to draw Gamzee's face and hair when his hand began to grow tired of drawing, and instead he pulled out his book entitled  _Steelheart_ and began to read.

But after reading the Prologue Tavros's attention began to wander over to everybody he had met that day. Kanaya was really nice to him, and so was Nepeta, Terezi, Rose, and Gamzee. Karkat was a different matter, for he didn't know if he liked him or disliked him. He seemed okay enough, but also seemed to have anger issues. Tavros may not look like it, but he was actually pretty smart and observant when he wasn't off in LalaLand. He tended to notice things, and made mental note of them for later use.

But before Tavros could ponder much, the bell rang, signalling it was time for the final period of the day, which was Orchestra. Since he was seven, even before the accident, Tavros had played violin and had managed to get into varsity in the sixth grade. As he wheeled his way to Orchestra, thinking of his classes and the people he met so far, Tavros couldn't help but think that the school year, looked promising.

 


End file.
